MAHONGWE RELIQUARY GUARDIAN 9, SOLD

FRONT and REAR Views

MAHONGWE RELIQUARY GUARDIAN 9, 17", $450, SOLD,
Gabon

These figures were mounted on containers holding relics
of important clan ancestors, serving as guardians. The Mahongwe are a subgroup
of the Bakota, who, like the nearby Fang, also make reliquary guardians.
Sheathed in metal (brass or copper wire), the figures are highly abstracted.
They are dedicated to Bwitti, the spirit of the ancestors.